• Prologue: Seventeen Years Ago




    She ran as fast as she could, the bundle in her arms staring up at her quietly. "Don't worry, little one," she cooed, "I'll get you out of here soon and to a safe home." She pulled a sharp turn at the corner and stopped. In front of her, the guards searched frantically for her. She looked down at the bundle and set it on the ground, pulling out her large pack. She hooked her beautiful short hair behind one ear as she rummaged through her things. Finally she pulled out two large boots with blades attached. There was a blade point on both ends of both boots and curved downward at the foot, then connected. The blades were large and very sharp, with bright silver in them and a dark red indent along the curves. She slipped her feet into the boots and tied them as tight as she could. She stood up and tapped the toe of the right boot against the ground, testing the tightness. She then bent down in a runner's stance and took a deep breath.

    Within a second she shot forward toward the guards. She leaped into the air behind the first one and brought the right boot up. The blade at the toe slammed deep into the right side of his head and killed him instantly. Her leg was stretched high into the air, because of her tiny size. She looked around and saw the other guards come running at her. She pulled the blade out and spun. The left boot sliced clean through the torso, creating two halves of the body. As soon as the blade left the body, she brought her right foot up behind her and kicked the torso half forward into the crowd. Four of the soldiers were knocked to the ground, but the other two leaped over them and ran for the woman.

    She smiled wickedly and ran at them too. As she neared, she jumped in the air and did the splits, putting one boot blade into a body, and the other into the other body. The bodies fell back against the wall, leaving her trapped in the air with her legs stretched. As the others continued up she threw her body forward with her arms out. She touched the ground and forced her legs together, rolling forward. In mid-roll, the bodies left her feet and slumped against one another. She came out of the roll and jumped high into the air. Her right hand slipped into the bag as she came down toward the remaining guards.

    One of the guards reached his hand out to grab her by the throat. She gagged as his hand tightened on her. Her hand was still in the bag. "Doctor told us to bring you back alive, but as we saw how flexible you are, we thought we may have some fun ahead of time." He licked his lips at her and squeezed his hand tighter on her neck. Her jaw muscles flexed and she pulled her hand out of the bag, thrusting it forward. When the other guards looked, they saw a large gauntlet on her forearm, three long blades coming from the wrist of the gauntlet. At the ends of the blade were the guard's eyes. She put one boot against his chest and kicked backwards, releasing herself from his grip. She slid backwards, the blades of her boots sparking until she came to a stop.

    She stood up straighter and pointed the three bloody blades of the gauntlet at the three guards left. "Go and tell Hitsugaya that I'm done doing his work! I'm leaving now, for good!" None of the guards made a move. "Or would you rather I kill you like them?" She gestured to the guards around her. They finally nodded and ran down the hall, the way she had came, and passed by the bundle of cloth. She finally sighed and looked down at her clothes. Her white lab coat was splattered with blood, as were her light pants. She had no doubt that her face had been covered in blood too.

    She made her way back to the baby and knelt down, smiling at him and rubbing the back of her hand down its cheek. "When you get older, you'll see enough of this blood. That, I promise you." She removed her boots and gauntlet, leaving them where she was, then hoisted the bag onto her right shoulder. She bent down to pick up the baby, then rushed off down the halls again.



    "A clever woman. I had forgotten how skilled she had been with those boots." The black-haired man stood with his hands clasped tightly behind his back. Behind him lay the bodies of three guards, piled up in the middle of the dark room. Along their chests and backs were blade marks. The man turned as footsteps came up to him.

    A young boy sheathed his swords and placed a hand upon the hilt of one sword on his side. Dark hair stuck to his forehead in sweat. "What would you like me to do, Doctor?"

    Doctor Hitsugaya brushed his hair out of his eyes and peered at the boy through his thin glasses. "Go after her. Watch her for some years. Make sure Project Thirteen grows up right. Then, in about seventeen years, I will send some of our strongest warriors to Telmin. The guards will be too distracted to see you sneak in and kill her."

    The boy hesitated. "But, Doctor... why do you want me to kill your own wife? Why seventeen years, and why Telmin?"

    Doctor Hitsugaya smiled at the boy's curiosity. "Because, my son, the Gods have foretold the young boy's future to me. And I plan on bringing it about to pass. Then, when he is older, he will help me kill the Gods." He couldn't help but laugh at his knowledge and his soon-to-be success. His son had no words to say. He turned to the door and stopped.

    "Fath-... Doctor, I will do as you wish, but why does he matter? He's not the Ultimate we tried to create last night. You and I both saw he was a failure."

    "Do not think on it, son. While you're gone, the Ultimate will be created." The boy nodded and left, the metal door sliding closed behind him.




    Chapter 1: Luca's Plan




    There was nothing but darkness, a long, empty darkness that seemed to stretch through time and space. Though suddenly, the darkness showed way to a large chamber at the top of a tower. The walls were destroyed and the ground cracked. Then there were two forms. One was a cloaked figure with a malicious smile on his face. He was staring at a young man whose body was pinned to the wall, lifeless. A large Zweihänder was stabbed into the man's chest as his hair hung in his face. The cloaked figure turned his back on the dead boy, laughing triumphantly. Then he stopped. He turned around to face the boy with a look of surprise about him as a white flash cleared the image out.

    "Wake up!" shouted a young voice. The man in the bed pulled a pillow over his head. "Luca, come on!" The girl grabbed the pillow and tossed it, standing over the man, who was now sitting up. He groaned and shook his head to knock away the sleep in him. His cheek-length hair brushed across his face in a tangled mess.

    "What do you want, Atoli?" he groaned again. He stretched and scratched his bare chest.

    She glared down at him. "I want you to get up and go to work. Mr. Thompson says that if you miss another day, you're going to be fired. And you know how much my parents will be pissed." Luca scoffed as he turned sideways out of the bed. He stood up, buckled his belt and went to his closet for clothes. "Are you even listening to me?"

    Luca looked over at Atoli, looking her up and down. She had long, beautiful brown hair that hung down to her back. Some of the hair went down the front of her shoulders and to her chest. She had on a black tank-top. The cut showed only a small portion of cleavage. She wore a black and red checkered skirt with frills on the end over a pair of tight blue jeans. Her face had that slight baby look that Luca loved on her, and she had stunningly green eyes. In her ears she had two piercing, each.

    They had been friends for seven years now. She was only two years younger than he. Luca had always been in love with her, it seemed, but he never knew what she thought of him. They're always together, but neither show much more than flirty intentions. Luca has always wanted to be with her, in more ways than one, and once he had his chance. She had come to his house, drunk, and practically gave herself to him, but he and his damned morals took her back home and put her in her bed, then watched over her the rest of the night.

    "Unfortunately." He cracked his neck and continued to look through his shirts. "Besides, don't your parents hate me already because I live here? You could always tell them that I can live on my own."

    Luca had moved in six months ago when his parents had died. Atoli had begged her parents constantly until they finally gave in. They never liked Luca. Thought his attitude and the way he dressed was a bad influence on Atoli. Then Atoli began to stop buying the bright and colorful clothes and going for more darker outfits, similar to Luca's. That made the parents love him more.

    Luca looked at himself in the full-length mirror on the closet door. He wasn’t strikingly handsome, but he was nowhere near ugly. His face was perfectly smooth. It had been since he first shaved four years ago. Hair never grew back after that time. His jet black hair reached down to his cheek, covering his left eye. He had dark-blue eyes that felt like they could pierce the soul. He had some muscle, but not large ones. He was wearing the pants and boots he had slept in. The pants were a little tight and dark, but faded. His boots were as dark as his hair and went up to his shin.

    When Atoli didn't answer, Luca turned to her.

    Her smile had vanished and now she looked upset. "But . . . I don't want to tell them that. I want you here, close to me." She said, looking down. Luca sighed, then smiled, hugging her close, her head coming up to his chin.

    Luca ran his hand down her long hair. "And of course, you were the only reason I accepted their invitation." He hit her on the forehead lightly with the joint of his middle finger, then grabbed a tight black hoodie and zipped it up. He walked down the stairs with his hands pocketed and sat down to eat his normal breakfast of cereal. "You know, I think Thompson'll be mad as hell if I'm late again." He had a smug smile on him. "Gotta love it." He finished his cereal, hugged Atoli again, then left to the streets of the Telmin Empire.

    The empire consisted of one city, but the city itself was large enough to hold close to one-fourth of the planet's organisms inside of its walls. Large, marble walls that were patrolled twenty-four seven surrounded it. There were rare occasions when their enemies all across the land would attack, but their attempts were always futile. The defense of this empire was so amazing that not even a year of bombarding the walls with large, metal boulders would even allow a crater to be put into them. The area was beautiful though. It lay on the outskirts of a plateau, sitting high above a large ocean and being surrounded by beautiful green plains that were used by many assortments of creatures and beasts. Now the emperor, he was a massive man. If ever the walls were torn down, he would be able to hold back any attacks on his own.

    His body was large and heavily built with scars and markings all over him. No man in this empire would ever go up against him, especially if they were nowhere close to his strength. This was the perfect place to live if you wanted to feel safe and free at the same time. The violence is moderate and the crime is low, but that is because of the patrols. Their weapons are nigh unbreakable and their armor was no different. Luca hated the empire with a great passion. His parents were of the main temple guards, and Luca believed that is the reason they are no longer a part of his life. It was six months ago, on the eve of the yearly festival of T'emanagre. This was celebrated every year to wish for good luck on crops and life of the people in the empire. Another reason Luca despised the empire.

    He looked at the main clock of the nearby church building and broke into a run to the store. He opened the door slowly, looking inside, then jumped over the counter and pretended to look bored. As he did, a large, burly man with short, sandy brown hair and a black apron on, over jeans and a white shirt, walked in, looking at him. "Late again."

    "What? Was not! I came in here at the time you told Atoli last night." They stared into each other's eyes.

    The man eyed Luca, then smiled. "Bull s**t." Mr.Thompson chuckled, then started walking towards the back room. "Oh, and Cross!" Luca turned around to look at Mr. Thompson, standing in a doorway that led to a large factory area that flying ships came into for tune ups or deliveries. "Head to the back and take the supplies sitting there to the Deflil? The Emperor's private ship, the Dolphina, is coming in tomorrow for armament supplies." Luca nodded and Mr. Thompson left.



    Several hours later, Luca went walking out of the store. He picked up his cell phone and hit ‘Dial’ on the most recent call. "Hello?" came a deep voice from the other end.

    "Jeff. It's Luca. Meet me at the tavern, okay? Call up Atoli, too." Before Jeff could answer, Luca hung up and jogged over to the tavern. It had taken him ten minutes to get from one end of the empire to the other, but as he opened the door he found Jeff sitting at a table set for three. Jeff was a tall man, but also very muscular. He had short cropped, dirty blond hair and wore an orange shirt, which showed his muscles off.

    Jeff and Luca have been friends ever since Luca could walk. They'd been neighbors up until six months ago. They had always run around the empire, challenging one another in contest-after-contest. Jeff was always the winner, but Luca could always find ways to get revenge. He was thought to be a 'master of revenge.'

    "Hey, maybe next time you could, oh I don't know, plan ahead of time instead of calling me on a whim?"

    Luca smiled and sat down, putting his feet up on the table. "Because if I plan ahead, the plan won't happen. Remember last time? That out of nowhere call from the store? Yea." Luca called their waiter over and ordered himself a drink. "Besides, I only came up with this idea recently." Jeff tilted his head, but before Luca could continue, Atoli came in wearing a black T-shirt and tight jeans. She sat down next to Luca and leaned her head on his shoulder.

    "I'm beat. I hate work." She said. Luca laid his head on hers and smiled.

    "Yea, well I had to move large boxes full of odd creatures and it smelled Gods awful." He shivered from the memory of the smell. Atoli lifted her head up and stuck out her tongue.

    "Anyway, Luca, what's this plan of yours?" Jeff asked. Atoli just finished ordering her drink and turned to Jeff.

    "Plan?" She turned her head to Luca, who only smiled and nodded, motioning for them to come closer.

    "I'm leaving Telmin," He whispered. "I'm going to get on the Emperor's airship and fly far from here, taking you two with me."

    Everything had gone quiet. Jeff's eyes were wide with fear, as Atoli stared at the table, thinking to herself. They all knew that leaving the Empire was forbidden, and if anyone was caught, they would be killed on sight. Luca knew this all too well. He had tried leaving when his parents died, and was almost gunned down until the Emperor called the guards off. Luca never understood why the Emperor would save him. Another rare occasion was the Emperor even leaving his tower. He never left his tower unless there was something very important. This wasn't an important matter.